Now that i have you all here, i have a question. What is your favorite or best or only caliber handgun? I'm looking for ladies only as i'm trying to help my girlfriend get her first semi auto handgun. She shoots my Ruger .45acp quite well, with the exception of a limp wrist here and there(mostly since its quite a hefty, unergonomic, cannon of a gun), i just got myself a Taurus PT92(bring on your Taurus jeers, but i love it), and she loves shooting it and any other 9mm someone will put in her hands. She has her eyes set on an SR9c, but with things the way they are, we'll either wind up paying $600 for one, or not getting anything. She's pointed out a few other 9mm subcompacts and compacts that she likes, BUT, back to the whole current situation with ammo and what not. Anyone carry a .40 cal? She's already made it quite clear that she doesn't like the look and feel of Glock, lack of manual safety also deters her. She likes the M&P line, as well as the Ruger SR series. I'm trying to sweet talk her into a Beretta PX4 subcompact or compact, but she locks up in the gun shops when she should be fondling everything in the cases. She has a smith and wesson 642 airweight, and likes it alot, but i screwed it up(made up for that with black diamonds on vday) and we're waiting for it to come back from S&W. There is currently a big serial rapists scare going on locally, and while i am usually with her at all times, armed to the teeth of course, she does want/need to go alone from time to time. Any suggestions, maybe a quick review of your personal experience with a good carry gun. Thank you.

I know you said Ladies only, But I ran into this situation not to long ago. My solution? Smith and Wesson Body Guard .380...My girlfriend loves it. its small and compact, yet not so small that recoil is a big issue.

My gf loves shooting a 22.
She can shoot a 380 and 9mm just fine, but she hates shooting a 40. It's just too snappy for her. Also, she prefers revolvers more than semi-autos. All in all, people like shooting different things and there's no way any of us here can really help you decide what the best pistol is for your gf.

I'm not of the fairer sex, but I have a few handguns I would suggest for a new or entry level female gun owner.
It sounds like she can already safely load, unload, field strip(clean) & fire semi auto pistols & snub revolvers so I shouldn't need to ask.
I would suggest; the new SIG Sauer P290 RS with SIG red laser aimer. It's a 9x19mm aka: 9mm Luger & it's DA only. The popular SIG Sauer P239 DAK in the SASII format(with 3 dot night sights) is a good pick. It's available in 9mm or .40 or the potent .357sig. She could add on a CT Laser-aimer grip too. www.CrimsonTrace.com
The Glock 36 .45acp with Trijicon HD 3 dot sights may work well or the Beretta Nano 9x19mm.
A Glock 26 9mm or a Glock 27 .40S&W with full size duty mags as spares could work for her, if she can safely fire/carry a striker fired sidearm.

This is what i was afraid of. The "get proper training" folks. Look, we live on 35 acres along with her aunt, uncle, cousin and his wife. I own 2 handguns, several long guns, and everyone on the property owns multiple guns long, short, and handguns. Her uncle is a huge safety nut and we took his "rules of the land" class. Quite frequently we will all get together at the back of the property and have a "range day". we share guns, just to get a feel of each others weapons, if it ever comes down to it, we'll all be well versed in each others guns. i was asking for ladies opinions on what they like, and what they look for. Not guys to tell me what to pay for. It's called youtube, gun shops, leo close by, and lots, and lots of ammo, oh yea, lots of ammo has been burned. we have all been practicing for concealed carry, currently waiting on the instructor to have a free day. Sorry, if you get offended by this, but if you read the title, that means you can read, and should be a lady. If you dont have the frame of a 5'4 woman with tiny hands, i dont need your input. I can shove training down her throat all day, and it wont make it any easier to help her pick a gun.

clyde frog, thanks for the input, she liked the sig250 in the gunshop we went in yesterday. i dont think they had the 229 though. she's hellbent on a cheap or free gun(mainly she doesnt want to shell out the money at one time, which is hard to do now). i have explained to her the difference between cheap and a good deal. If sigs were priced like rugers, she'd probably have 3, but if sigs were priced like rugers, they'd look and feel like rugers(nothing wrong with ruger, i love them, and want a ruger collection)

Last edited by haliwa04; February 19, 2013 at 07:05 PM.
Reason: responded before reading all

__________________
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-It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it. -Aristotle

Mleake, i know there is training available, and didnt say she didnt need it. we all could use a little teaching, i'm sure you're not perfect. The purpose of this thread was not to have a bunch of guys bombard me with get her this, or teach her that. The purpose was to get the honest opinion of the female members here of their carry weapon and what they like about it. I'm finally making her go to the actual gun range this weekend so she can try some other guns that she has hinted about liking, including a couple .40's, and i'd like to shoot some unfamiliar guns as well. She is already familiar with her j frame 642 airweight, and is quite accurate, even at 20 yards with light loads, and +p ammunition every once in a while. recoil isnt an issue with her, like i said, she'll dump 8 rounds from my .45 without hesitating. we've both got all the safety basics down. and believe it or not she's warmed up to watching the gun and defensive arms shows on monday nights. how many of you guys get your woman to cuddle on the couch and watch people going through defensive scenarios? i'm slowly working her into getting into the self defense deal, and dont want to blow it with mandatory training. i want her to find a gun she likes, that is available currently that she can alternate with the j-frame. she wont hear of the lcp or lc9(says she doesnt want a little girly gun). i want to get some ideas from actual women, if there are any around here.....

+1 to Andy's remarks.
My cousin does not like message boards & web forums. He wants to avoid the drama.

To me it's like what I call, the fast car posts;
A forum member asks about a fast car, members reply with a Mustang or a Ferrari or a Corvette then the poster writes; NO NO NO I want a fast car.

Many people on the world wide web get to comfortable or personal too.
We may not know each other or be fully versed in all details of the personal life. We aren't fishing buddies as my old US Army platoon leader would say...

Wow bro, the guys that took time to give you little advice were not ignoring the fact that you are looking for girls on here. Perhaps they are just being nice because they knew you wouldn't get any (or very little) replies. It's a gun forum. There are not many active female members that I have ever seen.

What is here are a lot of guys many of which have been through your situation. Many of these guys had the knowledge to successfully fit their girlfriends/fiance/wife with a handgun that suited her needs without the aid of a forum. No offense. But it's just the fact.

Want the advice of a 5'4" woman with small(ish) hands? I can give it to you, cause that's what I am.

When I was first getting started shooting more than a decade ago, we were at a family reunion when my over-talkative husband told all his relatives that I enjoyed shooting. Fifteen minutes later, all the women were in the kitchen saying nasty things about me (I got a blow by blow later from a shirttail relative too young to know better ... heh!) while the men were gathered around me happily chattering away.

To a man, these guys wanted to tell me:

How much their wives/girlfriends enjoyed shooting,

What guns their wives/girlfriends preferred, and

How happy their wives/girlfriends would be to learn that I enjoyed shooting too.

Since -- as I found out later -- those were the same wives and girlfriends that had quickly headed into the kitchen to say nasty things about women who enjoy firearms, it seems reasonable to believe that there may have been a slight amount of either exaggeration or denial going on among the men.

Of course, things have changed, socially speaking. Lots more women do enjoy shooting these days. But because of that early and somewhat traumatic experience, I'm still a little skeptical when a man tells me how much his wife/girlfriend enjoys shooting, and what she likes to shoot. Call it a gut response, but I figure, if she enjoyed it that much, she'd be here among us telling us about her gun for herself. Since she's not, she's probably in the kitchen, rolling her eyes -- even though she might humor the man she loves from time to time, she does not truly love the gun he got her. Just my own personal little insecurities speaking, I'm sure.

Meanwhile? My advice is to get her into a women-only class where she can compare notes about guns directly with other women. If she wants the advice of other women about how to choose, use, and carry guns, that's where she's going to find them.

She could also take a trip to a gun store that rents guns and try a few that way. However, let her be in the driver's seat for that trip. Let her narrow down her own choices. Don't do it for her in advance, or she won't get the full benefit of making her own selection. If she doesn't have some ownership of the process, she probably won't feel much ownership in the gun either.

If she isn't interested in getting involved with the process of choosing her own gun, *shrug.* Her life. If that's the case, just buy whatever you want to buy that you will enjoy shooting when she doesn't. No sense throwing a lot of effort into choosing a gun for a woman who doesn't care what she ends up with anyway.

Oh, me? I've happily carried a Glock 26 (9mm) for the past 14 years, though I had a brief flirtation with the G19. However, if I were starting out today, I would probably go with an M&Pc in 9mm, with a side of M&P .22 for fun plinking. The interchangeable backstraps on the 9mm make a big difference for smaller hands. But I have so many years of shooting the G26 that it would take a serious effort to change now; my hands are Glock shaped from all the shooting I've done.

Want the advice of a 5'4" woman with small(ish) hands? I can give it to you, cause that's what I am.

When I was first getting started shooting more than a decade ago, we were at a family reunion when my over-talkative husband told all his relatives that I enjoyed shooting. Fifteen minutes later, all the women were in the kitchen saying nasty things about me (I got a blow by blow later from a shirttail relative too young to know better ... heh!) while the men were gathered around me happily chattering away.

To a man, these guys wanted to tell me:

How much their wives/girlfriends enjoyed shooting,

What guns their wives/girlfriends preferred, and

How happy their wives/girlfriends would be to learn that I enjoyed shooting too.

Since -- as I found out later -- those were the same wives and girlfriends that had quickly headed into the kitchen to say nasty things about women who enjoy firearms, it seems reasonable to believe that there may have been a slight amount of either exaggeration or denial going on among the men.

Of course, things have changed, socially speaking. Lots more women do enjoy shooting these days. But because of that early and somewhat traumatic experience, I'm still a little skeptical when a man tells me how much his wife/girlfriend enjoys shooting, and what she likes to shoot. Call it a gut response, but I figure, if she enjoyed it that much, she'd be here among us telling us about her gun for herself. Since she's not, she's probably in the kitchen, rolling her eyes -- even though she might humor the man she loves from time to time, she does not truly love the gun he got her. Just my own personal little insecurities speaking, I'm sure.

Meanwhile? My advice is to get her into a women-only class where she can compare notes about guns directly with other women. If she wants the advice of other women about how to choose, use, and carry guns, that's where she's going to find them.

She could also take a trip to a gun store that rents guns and try a few that way. However, let her be in the driver's seat for that trip. Let her narrow down her own choices. Don't do it for her in advance, or she won't get the full benefit of making her own selection. If she doesn't have some ownership of the process, she probably won't feel much ownership in the gun either.

If she isn't interested in getting involved with the process of choosing her own gun, *shrug.* Her life. If that's the case, just buy whatever you want to buy that you will enjoy shooting when she doesn't. No sense throwing a lot of effort into choosing a gun for a woman who doesn't care what she ends up with anyway.

Oh, me? I've happily carried a Glock 26 (9mm) for the past 14 years, though I had a brief flirtation with the G19. However, if I were starting out today, I would probably go with an M&Pc in 9mm, with a side of M&P .22 for fun plinking. The interchangeable backstraps on the 9mm make a big difference for smaller hands. But I have so many years of shooting the G26 that it would take a serious effort to change now; my hands are Glock shaped from all the shooting I've done.

pax

Thank you. She is quite interested in getting a gun. There's just so many choices, and many gunshops are quick to say "here's a glock, have a nice day". And when you say, no thank you, they kind of aren't interested in making a sale anymore. I wanted to get her an lcp, she wanted a .22. Her aunt brought her Taurus .38 special and told her to have fun. She shot the 5 rounds that were in it, looked at me and grinned. My friend just happened to leave a value box of ammo for his 642, minus the 10-15 rounds we had fired the week before. She made me call and tell him I would pay him for the ammo and proceeded to reload and stick up a fresh target. She had decided herself, to my surprise, she wanted the .38. We shopped and shopped and couldn't find a hammerless .38 she liked. Finally, we asked the same friend if he wanted to sell his 642, he thought it was for me. Ha, imagine his face when we show up at his house, her with cash in hand and a pistol permit. Fast forward a couple weeks and Mr tinkerer I am, decides to detail strip the j frame to clean up the year and a half of fun my friend had. Long story short, its at smith and Wesson for repair due to what a sorry gunsmith called a "warped frame". After a few calls, we got s&w to give up the details. They are repairing/replacing the gun, under warranty, for free. Should be back in a week or two, but its been gone since the end of January and she's restless. And after shooting my friends New src9, her cousins wifes xd9c, a p95, pt909, and most recently my pt92, she wants a 9mm and has been searching high and low for one. She gets so discouraged when gun shops tell her to join the club in looking for an sr9c or m&p9c. I finally asked her today if she would try shooting a .40 just to see if she liked shooting it as much as 9mm and .45. She agreed, and hopefully we will head to the range this weekend. Unless we find someone we know that owns something in .40. If we make it to the range, I may even talk and shoot myself into a glock. She's fully against them, simply for the visual, and the fact that they get pushed on her. I know they are good guns, but I've always been one to not want the same thing 8 other people in my circle have. I'm a big boy and like my guns to feel like guns. She's quick to tell me what she doesnt want, but not what she does want. I've even left her in a few shops, and told her if she found something get it. Still nothing. Point is, my heads going to explode, because I can't even think about getting another gun until she gets another.

Since she enjoyed shooting the j-frame, she probably would enjoy a .40, too. More likely than not, anyway. It's not my own favorite caliber (I prefer either the soft 9mm or the big push from the .45 over the 'slap' of a .40), but since she didn't have problems with a small .38, she's like to do just fine on the .40.

9mms are still more fun in my book.

Has she tried any of the Kahr 9mms? I'd look at the heavier ones -- T9 or CW9 or (on the lighter side) the P9, but not the tiny PM9 -- for shooting fun. They're definitely good for small hands, though some people are put off by the long trigger press. Not sure how the supply of those is right now.

Yea, I started carrying my pt92 instead of my ruger for that exact reason, along with 17x3 others. Although I love shooting .45 and feel that its a better stopping round(opinion), the 9mm just feels natural and doesn't rattle my teeth. She loves my pt92 and would like something similar, just a little smaller.

. Sorry, if you get offended by this, but if you read the title, that means you can read, and should be a lady. If you dont have the frame of a 5'4 woman with tiny hands, i dont need your input.

Wow, you're a tad rude. Some of us have wives, girlfriends, sisters, mothers, you get the idea. Most women I've gone shooting with have had no problem telling me which of my guns they liked and which they didn't. They're grown women, they can speak for themselves. However my wife isn't on this forum, she's reading. She is in the room however, and I often ask her opinion when posting on here.

Quote:

But because of that early and somewhat traumatic experience, I'm still a little skeptical when a man tells me how much his wife/girlfriend enjoys shooting, and what she likes to shoot. Call it a gut response, but I figure, if she enjoyed it that much, she'd be here among us telling us about her gun for herself. Since she's not, she's probably in the kitchen, rolling her eyes -- even though she might humor the man she loves from time to time, she does not truly love the gun he got her. Just my own personal little insecurities speaking, I'm sure.

Nice of you to make blanket statements. Does my wife love shooting? Not really. Does she get a kick out of shooting cans with the Ruger 10/22? Yea she does. She has things she likes better than guns so she has her own forums to visit. Doesn't mean every male member of these forums is talking out of our butts.

The best course of action is to let her choose for herself as has been said. Bring her to a store that has a decent staff that won't get uppity at showing a number of items. Let her hold anything that gets her fancy. She'll come out of it with a small list. Maybe you can rent some of those things she likes. Take that list and then look online to see if any of those have glaring problems. Most likely they won't, IMO it's harder to find an unreliable handgun than a reliable one.

For what it's worth, my wife loves the SR9c. She picked it out from all the ones in the store. It's the easiest for her small hands to hold and get a good grip.

__________________
Know the status of your weapon
Keep your muzzle oriented so that no one will be hurt if the firearm discharges
Keep your finger off the trigger until you have an adequate sight picture
Maintain situational awareness

Wow, you're a tad rude. Some of us have wives, girlfriends, sisters, mothers, you get the idea. Most women I've gone shooting with have had no problem telling me which of my guns they liked and which they didn't. They're grown women, they can speak for themselves. However my wife isn't on this forum, she's reading. She is in the room however, and I often ask her opinion when posting on here.

Nice of you to make blanket statements. Does my wife love shooting? Not really. Does she get a kick out of shooting cans with the Ruger 10/22? Yea she does. She has things she likes better than guns so she has her own forums to visit. Doesn't mean every male member of these forums is talking out of our butts.

The best course of action is to let her choose for herself as has been said. Bring her to a store that has a decent staff that won't get uppity at showing a number of items. Let her hold anything that gets her fancy. She'll come out of it with a small list. Maybe you can rent some of those things she likes. Take that list and then look online to see if any of those have glaring problems. Most likely they won't, IMO it's harder to find an unreliable handgun than a reliable one.

For what it's worth, my wife loves the SR9c. She picked it out from all the ones in the store. It's the easiest for her small hands to hold and get a good grip.

Didn't mean to be rude. And I haven't suggested any guns to her. For the most part, she's on her own unless she has a question. She's a bit timid with strangers, so she asks me first. I've taken her in about 10 different shops in the past month or so, nothing. She sees guns online that she likes, gets to the store, and "good luck finding that" is what she hears. Most trips consist of me drooling on 1911s in the "sell a kid" range and her looking past glocks and xds for that ever rare sr9c and m&p9c. I tried the whole pink gun deal long ago and had a silent ride home. She wants her .38 coated black with zombie green accents, which a friend of mine is going to do once we get it back. For the most part, she likes looking at guns or so she's told and expressed to me and her folks. She warmed up to a nice Sig 250, until the tag flipped over and said $600. I think that's the hardest part. I've explained to her just like a few others, guns are tools, and for the most part, you get what you pay for with a few exceptions. I know the money's there, and so does she, its the thought of a major purchase that's freaking her out. I even offered to sell one of mine if she'd get what she wants. But, her being the woman she is, and knowing how much I love my guns, she refuses.

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